Congratulations are in order for Emmy-winning writer and actress Lena Waithe, who recently married her longtime partner, writer and president of production and development at Outlier Society Alana Mayo, in a San Francisco courthouse ceremony.
Their wedding was private and took place in San Francisco City Hall in front of the bust of the late LGBTQ+ rights activist Harvest Milk.
Waithe was a guest on Ellen DeGeneres show with guest host John Legend. She told Legend that her and Mayo’s wedding was intentionally small and stress-free. She said, “We snuck and did it. We didn’t really make any announcements.”
After dating for three years, Waithe proposed to Mayo on Thanksgiving 2017 while the couple was in Tokyo. She opted for engagement sneakers instead of a ring, according to Complex. “There was a particular brand that is only available in Tokyo and they don’t sell anymore in the states,” she told Complex. “She was like, ‘I want to give you these pair of sneakers.’ And I was like ok, cool! They are my engagement sneakers and I only wear them on special occasions.”
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She said the ceremony wasn’t pre-planned. “We went to the courthouse and got married right in front of Harvey Milk’s bust,” she explained. “It was her idea—like all good things are—and she was just driving and she saw the courthouse and she said, ‘We should get married there,’ and I said, ‘Cool, I’m down.'”
The importance of the history behind San Francisco City Hall was important to her. “It was a humbling day to marry someone so amazing but also to appreciate all of the work that so many people have put in for us to be able to do that,” she said.
